Nico > Recent Status Updates

Trucking along with this one, it’s good though and I’m loving how weird it is. Its plot is not necessarily gripping but it’s not exactly slow either. Aster’s POV is the most intriguing to me even halfway despite her constantly hacking and my aversion to phlegm. I think this last half will kick off soon.

I was convinced to unquit this and so far I’m glad I did.

Wowowow. This is so good!

How was this not on any shortlists? LOVING it.

Loving this. An Eldritch Horror finds itself smitten with its new human world, and maybe an Eldritch Horror-cat friendship is developing?

Pausing because I can’t. If you know you know.

Going to switch to e-book. I very rarely feel that a narrator is overacting, but I think it’s too much and that would be fine, however on top of that he whispers - literally - quite often in the audio and it’s been such a difficult listen all around.

I read 5 of 6 stories in the Wild Space section - still just reading the first page of a story and continuing or moving on depending on my mood. Only two favorites in this section: “Weightless” by Raven Oaks, about a large passenger with knee pain embarking on space travel, and “The Definitions of Professional Attire” by Evergreen Lee, about a detective who is directed to conceal their third eye and hooves.

I got through some chapters on a new character and my heart sang. I was especially moved by a piece of lore, tears pricked my eyes. I’m a sucker for stories about grief and finding oneself again, and the beauty both of the messaging and of the imagery will likely stay in my mind for many years. I also liked the writing of the experience around disability (chronic pain or loss of limbs). I will keep trucking along.

Audio: Cady, a long-retired boat captain, reluctantly takes on a dangerous, ferrying job in the haunted river Nysis. There’s a reviewer who’s compared this to Gormaghast, which I’ve never read, but the writing style, only in way of descriptions and dialogue (not humor or tone), reminds me of Terry Pratchett’s. It’s having a slow start for me, but I’m intrigued.

72-year-old Johnny, newly released from prison, has a looming threat on his mind. Ultimately, I’d say this is a family drama about what happens to superheroes decades after their prime - also touches on the Civil Rights Movement in the US and how history impacts the present. I’m liking it, but not sure I’m in the mood for drama at the moment.

This novella is the literary version of African-American culture and Japanese historical fiction fusion (and a big ol’ love letter to both cultures), plus demons and magic. Definitely liking it.

Gone Astray section: I found three favorites. “The Sorrow Stealer” by A.J. Cunder (what it sounds like, with a twist). “Delbrot, Peace Warrior! by Holly Saiki (maybe my absolute favorite of this bunch, cussing, silliness and a serious chase, eff yes!). “The Warp and Weft of a Norse Villainous” by El Park (the three sisters of fate, but focusing on Skuld, who cuts the threads, maybe my other favorite).

Creature Feature section: my fav was “Lucy” by Judy Lunsford, an imaginary friend assigned a new kid, must-read for dog-lovers. I was deeply disturbed by “The Rising Currents of Ocean Fire in my Blood” by Bethy Werner, a mermaid locked in an aquarium. I liked “A Peril of Being Human” by Julie Reeser & “The Arroyo Fiasco” by Dawn Vogel, about a shapeshifter therapist and geyser pterosaur respectively.

This is going to be a couple months effort, alongside novellas and short stories, but well worth it so far.

Was making me anxious, infuriated and sad. Temporarily put down since not in the mood.